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Stop and Search — Authorised Professional Practice

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Summary

This section covers the importance of legality in stop and search encounters for police officers in the UK. It emphasizes that such encounters must be both legally justified and lawfully applied to maintain public trust and police legitimacy. Officers must act consistently with legal standards to protect themselves and ensure evidence collected is admissible in court. It outlines obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998, stressing that improper use of powers can violate rights and lead to significant legal implications. Key requirements include having a specific legal basis and applying powers lawfully and proportionately, adhering to relevant codes of practice.

Key principles

  • 1Stop and search must have a legal basis.
  • 2Officers must act in accordance with the law.
  • 3Legal compliance maintains public trust and police legitimacy.
  • 4Evidence obtained unlawfully may be challenged in court.
  • 5Use of powers must respect human rights.

Defined terms

European Convention on Human Rights
A regional human rights instrument to which the UK is a signatory.
Human Rights Act 1998
UK legislation that incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic law.
Code A
A code of practice that provides guidelines for conducting stop and search under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

Full guidance

Definition of a fair and effective stop and search encounter, how and why stop and search encounters should be fair, legal, professional and transparent

This page is from APP, the official source of professional practice for policing.

Stop and search encounters must be legal in basis and in application.

Police officers must act, and be seen to act, in accordance with the law. This contributes to police legitimacy by encouraging the public to trust that the police do not act arbitrarily and are subject to the same rules as everyone else1 .

Acting in accordance with the law provides protection for officers. If something goes wrong but they can point to having followed the correct processes in their decision making and conduct, they are in a better position to explain their actions.

Acting outside the law can have serious consequences for investigations and prosecutions – if the law is not followed when stopping and searching someone, any evidence obtained from the search may be open to challenge.

In addition, the European Convention on Human Rights(opens an external website in the same tab) (ECHR) specifies that restrictions on rights must be lawful. The police, as state agents, are therefore under an obligation to act in accordance with the law when exercising powers that may interfere with individual rights under the ECHR. The Human Rights Act 1998(opens an external website in the same tab) , which incorporates the ECHR into UK law, also sets out in section 6(1) that it is unlawful for a public authority to act in a way that is incompatible with a Convention right.

Stop and search has the potential to interfere with several Convention rights, in particular the right to liberty and security under Article 5(opens an external website in the same tab) and the right to respect for private and family life under Article 8(opens an external website in the same tab) . Incorrect use of stop and search powers, whether deliberate or not, may therefore breach domestic law and place the UK in violation of its obligations under the ECHR.

What does legal mean in the context of stop and search?

Code A (paragraph 1.5(opens an external website in the same tab) ) says:

> An officer must not search a person if there is no specific power to do so. This applies even if the person would consent to being searched. > > The only exception to this is search on entry to premises where consent to being searched is a condition of entry.

There are two main aspects to the requirement that a stop and search encounter be legal. It must:

Each stop and search encounter must have a basis in law. The officer carrying out the stop and search must only do so using one of the powers provided for in legislation, and it must be the right power in the particular circumstances.

Where there is a legal power to stop and search, it must also be exercised lawfully. The power must be applied in a way that is compatible with the enabling legislation, with the applicable code of practice (Code A(opens an external website in the same tab) in most cases) and with human rights law. This includes ensuring that the extent of the search is limited to what is necessary and proportionate in the circumstances to achieve a legitimate aim.

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Reproduced from the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice under the Open Government Licence v3.0, as captured on 2026-06-27. APP is amended over time — check the source link below for the current version. This is a reference, not operational authorisation.

APP is the authoritative source for UK policing practice and is updated over time. For the current, official version — including any operational detail not reproduced here — go direct.

Read the full APP guidance

Source: College of Policing — Authorised Professional Practice · Crown copyright, licensed under Open Government Licence v3.0. Summary fetched 2026-06-27.